Levicept

About Levicept

Levicept Ltd. is a UK-based clinical-stage biotechnology company established in 2012, focusing on the development of therapeutics for chronic pain. The company’s genesis is a direct result of Pfizer's 2011 closure of its research and development campus in Sandwich, UK. Simon Westbrook, a scientist with over 15 years of experience at Pfizer, founded Levicept after acquiring the rights to a promising protein he had discovered and was researching there. This pivotal decision allowed him to continue his work on what would become the company's lead asset.

The company's business model is centered on the research and clinical development of its proprietary drug candidate, with the goal of eventually partnering or licensing the asset to a larger pharmaceutical company for late-stage development, manufacturing, and commercialization. Levicept has successfully navigated the challenging biotech funding landscape, securing a total of $50.9 million over eight funding rounds, including seed, series A, series B, and grant funding. Its investor syndicate includes prominent life science venture capital firms like Medicxi, Advent Life Sciences, and Gilde Healthcare, as well as the corporate venture arm of Westbrook's former employer, Pfizer Ventures, underscoring the perceived potential of its science.

Levicept's sole therapeutic candidate is LEVI-04, a first-in-class biologic designed to treat chronic pain, particularly in patients with osteoarthritis. LEVI-04 is a p75 neurotrophin receptor fusion protein (p75NTR-Fc) that works by modulating the neurotrophin pathway. Unlike previous anti-Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) antibodies that caused significant side effects like rapidly progressive osteoarthritis due to complete signal ablation, LEVI-04 is designed to restore neurotrophin homeostasis. It functions by acting as a 'sponge' to bind excess neurotrophins, specifically inhibiting neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), which provides pain relief while preserving the necessary neurotrophin functions for joint repair and remodeling.

The company has achieved significant clinical milestones. A Phase I trial completed in March 2021 confirmed a favorable safety and tolerability profile. More substantially, Levicept recently announced positive results from a large-scale Phase II trial involving over 510 patients with knee osteoarthritis. The trial successfully met all its primary and secondary endpoints, demonstrating a statistically significant reduction in pain—greater than 50% from baseline—across all tested doses compared to placebo. Importantly, the study showed no evidence of the joint-related safety issues that plagued earlier anti-NGF therapies. With these compelling results, Levicept is now planning for Phase III development, which will involve a subcutaneous, self-administered formulation, and is exploring options for either partnership or proceeding independently.